Air cleaner



F. J. DOHRER Aug. 9, 1949.

AIR CLEANER Filed Jan. 23, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug-9,1949- "F. J. D OHRER 2,478,466

' Q AIR CLEANER Filed Jan. 25; 1946 2 Sheets-Sheeb? ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 9, '1 949 UNITED: S ATE This invention relates to an air cleaner for removing dust and :other: particles; carried in:-a

stream of moving-air,

The general object of-the invention is to pro-'- vid'ei an air cleaner capableof handling a large volume ofair or ioth'er gas which is efiective to 7 other particles of'micronic size which have not been heretofore successfully removed by conven Thef-present device is used in connection with. and compriseyan improvement on a cyclone type tional'separators. V

remove-* finei-dusuandimpalpable powder and separator.-=J A conventional cyclone' separator; however; siseffective only forthe separation of relatively 'largeaparticlesr-it 'beinggenerally-recl ogn'ized in the art that: such aseparator-dis charges the veryifine material along with the stream of air. into theatmosph'ere, *as 'in various kinds of industrial processe'sz'carried' out in manufacturing offine dust has heret'oforebeen accepted asin Where the discharge is directed" 20 plants, "the discharge '1'0f" a considerable quantity evitable-in spite'of'theloss'of great quantities ofmaterial which may have "a value, and in spite '25 rounding' commun-ity The 'object of thepresent ofth'e undesirablcondition created in the stirinvention'is,-"-therefore; "to provide-a device for removing such fine' material-"sothat it can -be 1 with the 'air stream' which' constitutes its trans I collectedand recovered ifl it is of value; and so that in anyf-event it will not Joe-discharged along porting vehicle:

In 'aiconventional "cycloneseparator, an. air

StreamIcarrying-soIid particles ofvarious sizes is 'caus'ed 'tolflow in a circular'path-around thein side-"of a cylindrical 'casing. The 1ve1ocity of the airstreamf'de'liv'ered"to the casing-is such that theicentrifugalforce factingupon the "solid particles :causes themtomove toward the wall of e 40 that they'graduallysettle down and fall out of the rapidly :moving air StP'3,m.-' The cylindrical partbffithecasing -is -provide'd with a cone 'or thercasifig, where theirvelocity is retardedso' funnel shaped bottom extending downwardlyaway fromethe-influence'of the rotating air mass" produces an efficient separating-action 0n-=the larger particles: by sea-using athemto move out-- wardly toward the walls of the casing while the air-emust moveinwardly-"toward the center toget-out of the discharge tube. -It is found, how-"f ever, that impalapable powders'and dust particles of--micronic-- size are-"relatively-less affected; by

centrifugal force,-and-=perhapsdue t othe large surface area of-eachparticle -i-n--compa-rison with its -mass, this finemateri-ahis carried: toward the centerwith the 'airstream and discharged fmm'the Casing before -a .-separating action can take placee- Y III the -=present invention the air leaving the cyclone casingds caused -to -pass radially inwardly threughethe revolving blades: of a power driven rotor-whichtakesthe place of the conventional a re=entrant dischargegtubes- The'rotor ismounted on a vertical shaft COHCGHtI'i-C'fWith a central outlet -opening -in the top ;wal1 -'ofthe cyclone? casing-p and revolves in the-same direction-as the'air flow with-in the-easing? when the -rotoris --driven at a i elocity 'exceeding the velocity 0ftadjacent 1ayers-of-airabout to leave the cyclone;-- the circular'movementrof the air is aceeleratedjust-before it passes inwardly-through therotor,

creating an inner-mass;or-coreof-rev01ving -airmoving atahigher velocity, than the outer mass of revolving air. The increased rotational velocity of the-inner -mass--ofair exerts a greater centrifugal force "in this region immediately surrounding the rotor blades to --resist the ten dency 01' particles-to-reach-the outlet Skin friction is-produced-between these two masses revolving at different-velocitieaand it is-Iound ;thatvery finedust.-which has-not been separated by the: cyclone: action .will not. penetratethrough this zone;e-Instead -itexhibits a tendency torevolve aroundand move down in thisair division so as finally to-drop 1 out of the zone-of the rotor and- Stt1e"tO the bottom of; the--cone along with the coarser particles; "As 'a j-result of --this= action, 7 the air-which-lea-ves the outlet openingin the casing is =veryfree and-clean -OfFdL1St of all particle SiZBSs The construetion'and operationof the present device willbe better= understood, however, with--- reference tor the accompanying drawings illustra-ting :a -preferred-embodiment -of'=the invention.-- l.

In the drawings: 1 v Figured is -a top plan view of an air cleaner embodying ithevprinciples ci -the present inven-s tion'; certain parts, being broken away to show the internal structure;- s Figure 2 is. a a. sectional View taken on v the line 2 2 Of Figurelg Figure 3 is aperspecti veview, with parts broken away to show the manner in which the rotor is mounted in the outlet opening of the cyclone casing;

Figure 4 is a top plan view with the top of the casing removed illustrating the two phases of the separating action that takes place when the device is in operation; and V Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the top end of the rotor showing the action of a local return circulation which isproduced adjacent the outlet opening to act as a frictionless air seal.

The numeral l5 designates, generally, a cyclone casing having a vertical cylindrical wall ll, a top wall l2 having a central air outlet opening l3, and a bottom cone 14 for collecting solid particles and depositing them in a pipe l5. Dust laden air is admitted tangentiall into the casing from a pipe l6 through an opening I! in the cylindrical wall II. of sheet metal with dust tight jointsin the man her of a conventional cyclone separator. Sup port for the cyclone casing is providedby' a pair of standards l8 interconnected at their tops by a pair of cross members 9.

A rotor 20, having a shaft 2!, is mounted in an upper bearing '22 on the cross members l9 and a lower bearing 23 maintained in vertical alignment within the cyclone casing. The bearing 23 is maintained in proper position by rods 24 anchored in the standards I 8, and in a large installation suitable additional supporting and positioning means may beprovided. The shaft 2| is driven by belts 25 from an electric motor 25.

The rotor 20 comprisesa plurality of Vertical blades 3B'mounted between a to ring 3! and a circular bottom plate 32. The bottom plate 32 and a conical stiffening plate 33 are carried by a hub 34 by which means the rotor is mounted on the shaft 2|. A number of cars or lugs 35 are provided on the upper end of the hub 34 above the conical plate 33 for anchoring the inner ends of struts 36, the outer ends of which are secured These parts may be made to certain of the blades 30 just below the ring 7 3|. Although the rotor blades 30 are set angularly in the general arrangement of fan blades, the blade angle is not critical and the blades may be set in radial planes if desired.

Extending downwardly within the ring 3| is" a dust seal ring or flange 4!! attached toa flat top wall portion 4| in the center of the conical top wall l2. The parts are so proportioned and the rotor is so mounted that the top ring 3| of the rotor is spaced closely below the top plate 4! of the casing and closely surrounding the cylindrical flange 40. The width of the blades 39 is such that their inner edges also revolve very closely adjacent to the flange 40 so that any dust escaping between the ring 3| and the top wall 4| is forced to travel downwardly along the wall of the flange 40 adjacent the inner edges of the blades and become subject to the action thereof before it has access to the opening I3. The bottom of the rotor being closed by the plates 32 and 33, there is no other escape for air within the cyclone casing except to pass between the'revolving 1'0", tor blades. The slope of the conical plate 33 prevents material from collecting in the bottom of the rotor.

Air containing dust and other particles introduce into the cyclone casing through the pipe I5 is forced to follow a circular path around the inside of the cylindrical side wall The centrifugal effect of this rotary motion causes the larger and heavier particles to immediately impinge against the side wall where their velocity to increased centrifugal force.

is reduced sufficiently to cause them to take a downward path into the slower moving air in the bottom cone M. This is the conventional cyclone action and is effective only in removing relatively coarse particles, the finer dust being carried with the air current in its circular motion within the casing. In a conventional cyclone this finer material would be carried inwardly in the tightening spiral of motion of the .air stream and be discharged therewith through the outlet opening. In the present device, however, the rotor 20 is driven so that-the blades 35 revolve in the same direction as the air flow therearound but at a considerably higher velocity. The rotor thereby establishes an air mass therearound which is revolving at a higher speed than the surrounding air and subjecting suspended particles The influence of the rotor, however, doeslnot extend outwardly very far beyond the blades, and so the inner high speed revolving mass of air constitutes a fairly well defined cylinder of air producing a skin friction phenomenon as it slides around within the outer mass of revolvin air. Although all the air which is introduced by the pipe I6 must eventu-I ally pass between the rotor blades 3|] to escape through the outlet l3, the dust carried thereby will not penetrate this skin friction zone, but will continue to revolve around at a distance from the rotor and gradually settle down to drop out of the zone of influence of the rotor to be collected and discharged along with the coarser particles from the bottom outlet of the casing. In operation, it is observed that the air is clear and free of dust immediately around the rotor, and that the very fine dust appears to collect in a ring concentric with the rotor but spaced a short distance therefrom.

This action is illustrated in Figure 4, wherein the arrow indicates the direction of flow of a heterogeneous collection of large and small particles 5| introduced through the tangential inlet pipe l5. As the air stream is deflected into a circular path, the larger particles very soon impinge upon the cylindrical wall I and form a these particles to such an extent that they soon descend to a lower level and so the layer 52 is represented as gradually disappearing from the n. plane of the view in Figure 4 as the bulk of this material drops below this plane. Meanwhile, the I principal air mass is rotating within the casing, as indicated by the arrow 53, and carrying a certain amount of finer material 54 which does not readily respond to centrifugal action. The arrow 55 indicates the direction of rotation of the in an air mass 56 immediately surrounding the rotor. The numeral 51, then, represents a concentration of the fine material 54 which has moved inwardly toward the rotor but which refuses to penetrate through the skin friction zone existing on the outer fringe of the air mass 58. The air mass 5-5, therefore, defines a zone which is clear and free of dust immediately adjacent the rotor. The ring or cylinder of fine dust 5T continues to revolve around this clear zone until it settles out at the bottom, the path of each particle the ring 51 being a oownmrdspirnor helix. When the device is in operation the various size dust particles rorm' themselves into a nxed' pattern of this 'kind', although the individualpartlcles are niovingat high-speed and are cons'tantiy being replaced by other particles as prises :a pluraiityioi radial blades or vanes 46 long as fresh material o l'is being supplied; fsimithe rotor and the'top or the casing reacna-posl- 1 tion in descending along this wall where thcybecome su-bjectto influence oi the rotor and are thrown out'by the centrifugal tan action "or the blades 3'8. In fact, in operation it may be "assuined that there is a continuous how or primary air above the top of the rotor, down between the rotor and the wall M, and out through-the blades 30, which 'loca-i circulation of air effectively vents the dust from passing under the Flower-edge o f the wall and out of the opening lo. This-action is iliustrated Figure-5, wnereinthe ar an 58 indicate the path or air dischargedthrough-the rotor blades as shown-in i igure i. arrow 16% indicates the'pa'th or air 'rnovingrauiaiiy inwardl across the top or the casing Min an-attemutto escape to the outlet 'opening through the ciearance between the upper edge or the rotorahd'the casing. 'The arrowstiinmcate thelocalcircuiation or this primary air a closed circuit through which it is always returned back through the rotor blades to the interior oithe casing.v This arrangement provides a frictionless Seal without resorting to a liquid troughy-paolfing or other eonventionai expedient. V V

Diiferent kinds of dust 'dii'iererrt'reiativerotor speeds in order to obtain the desired air cleaning action. When the various parts are proportioned approximately as shown in' the it is usually ioundthat best results'are obtained by operating the rotor'fat a peripheral speed about twice that 01 the air entering the casing, but the invention is not limited to these proportions or relative velocities as tnesefactors r'nustbe determined independentl in different instailations.

nasmuen-as the-major air mass withinthc cesis primaril motivated by" velocity'oi the incoming einthe onl power required operate the rotor is that necessary to impart an increased velocity to the relatively small inner air mass, or, in other words, the only. additional energy required is a relatively small amount to increase the velocity of the air just prior to and during its passing through the rotor. The motor 26 is, therefore, of relatively low power output as compared with the motor driving the blower which delivers the air stream through the pipe It.

It will be observed that the rotor blades 30 exert a centrifugal action on the air in opposition to the inward direction of the air flow approaching the outlet 13. To avoid creating an appreciable back pressure in the system it may be desirable to counteract this efiect. by a booster fan to restore the over-all pressure differential and air flow to the value it would have in a conventional cyclone. For this purpose an exhaust fan is provided immediately above the outlet l3. This fan comattached to a-circular plate 41 on a hu'b-fl which ismounted on the shaft '21. shown, the fan 15 exhausts into theatmosphere, but itimayrex- V haust "into another pipeiii'i desired. in theprcserit arrangement, shield or-Eguard plate 19 is Y attached "to the cross .membersrra immediately above'theian-aii g In theioregoing description the pressure head for producing "an airflow through the system may "be produced by a b'l'o'wer'which maintains-greater than atmospheric pressure in the deliuery' pipe ft. Howeven-this macnine can aisobe'operated under suctionwherein theintake end of the deli er pipe re is open to atmospheric pressure and the exhaust fan 15 operates to reduce the pressure in the outlet is below atmospheric to establish a pressure difierential adequate to maintain the desired air flow. In such case the fan G5 is designed large enough to act as the primary fan to operate the entire circuit under suction, the motor '26 being :oisufficien't horsepower to operate thiscircuit {in addition to the rotor 20.. The fan 45 under'these conditions may,

Cil

of'course, discharge tangentially directly into the atmosphere as shown, or into a conventional spiral' fan casing. Whenthepressure in the easing is below atmospheric, the dust discharge outlet it must be air sealed with a valve or "the like to prevent the-entrance of air at that point.-

'lhe present device is susceptible of various changes in the'construction and arrangement of parts, and all such modifications capable of the hercinabove described mode of operation which are within thescope of the-appended claims are includedin the invention.

Having now described my invention and in what-manner the same may be used, what-I claim as new and desireto protect by Letters Patent is: l. Improvements in a cyclone type'a-ir cleaner having. a top wall provided with an outlet=openconstituting the only opening in said top wall and an inwardly directed circular flange around said outlet opening, and adapted for operation at pressures above atmospheric, comprising a rotor lia-v ing a conical bottom end wall and a top circular ring spaced apart by a plurality of narrow longitudinal blades'forming a cylindrical cage, said ring end of said rotor beingclosely spaced from said end wall 06f said separator and v positioned such that a portion of the length of said blades rotates closel around said flange for bachinto said separator without turbulence.

2'. Improvements in a cyclone type air cleaner having a vertical cylindrical casing, a tangential air inlet in said casin constituting the only opening in the cylindrical wall of said casing, and a top wall in said casing provided with a circular outlet opening'concentric with said casing constitutin the only openin in said top wall; comprising a cylindrical cage rotor having a plurality of narrow longitudinal blades, one end of said rotor being spaced closely adjacent said top wall and mounted for rotation around said outlet opening, a flange around said outlet opening extending within said rotor for a portion of the length of said blades and close to said blades to cause air passing through the space between said top wall and the end of said longitudinal rotor to be subjected to the influence of said rotor blades and returned to the interior of said casing without turbulence to prevent the scape of air fromwithin said casing around the end of said rotor. p

3; An improved cyclone type air cleaner for removing very fine dust and the like from a gaseous stream, comprising a casing with a vertical cylindrical wall, a tangential gaseous stream inlettin said wall constituting the only opening in said wall, a top Wall on said casing having a circular outlet opening, a cylindrical flange depending from the rim of said outlet opening, and "a' vertical rotor in said casing having'narrow longitudinal blades forming a cylindrical cage rotating closely adjacent said flange with the flange extendin into the, rotor and along said blades, said casing being extended downwardly "from said cylindrical wall to provide a relartively quiescent settling chamber for the gradual settling of dust moving in circular paths around said casing.

4. Animproved cyclone type air cleaner for removing very fine dust and the like from a gas.-

eous stream, comprising a casing with a vertical cylinder wall, a tangential gaseous stream inlet in said wall, constituting the only opening in saidwall, a top wall on said casing having a circular outlet opening constituting the only open ing in said top wall, a rotor in said casing having narrow vertical blades forming a cylindrical cage extending close to said top Wall and rotatable concentric with said outlet opening, a circular flange depending from the rim of said outlet opening and extending into said rotor closely adjacent and beneath the upper ends of said blades for producing a circulation of pri- 'mary air at said flange and top wall without turbulence'to'prevent escape of said air around the end of the rotor, and a conical bottom on said casing beneath said cylindrical wall forming a relatively quiescent settling chamber for the gradual downward spiral movement of dust traveling in a predominantly circular course in said casing. I

5. An air cleaner comprising a casing having a vertical and generally cylindrical peripheral upper side wall, a horizontal tangential air inlet opening in the upper part of said cylindrical wall adapted to impart a circular streamline flow to dust laden air introduced into said casing through said inlet for the immediate separation of coarse particles from the air stream. a top wall in said casing having a central circularoutlet opening, said inlet and outlet openings constituting the only air inlet and outlet openings in said casing, a circular flange integral with said top Wall depending from the margin of said outlet opening and extending down into said casing,

file of this patent:

that it can gradually settle vertically by gravity below the zone. of influence of the rotor and into a more quiescent zone in the lower part of the casing, the upper end of said rotor closely surrounding said flange, and the lowerv end of said rotor being, closed to compel all the air leaving said casing to pass. between said rotor blades.

6. ,An air-cleaner comprising a casing having a top Wall and a peripheral sidewall having a vertical cylindrical upper portion connected with said top wall, a tangential air inlet in said cylindrical side wallarranged'toimpart a circular streamline motion to dust; laden air to cause heavier particles in the air tomove outwardly against saidside wall by centrifugal force, an outlet opening in the center of [said top wall constituting the only opening in said top wall, a cylindrical flange on said topwall extending into said casing from the margin of said outlet opening, and a vertical cylindrical cage rotor in said casinghaving a larger lumber of blades, all of therotor blades being narrow longitudinal vertical blades mounted in the periphery of the rotor, thelower end of saidrotor being closed and the upper end ofthe rotor closely surrounding said flange, said rotor bein driven in the direction of said circular air motion to increase the rotational velocity of a central mass of said air without turbulence toprevent the continuedinward movement of fine dust particles toward said rotor and outlet opening. FRANCIS J. DOI-IRER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number a 1 Name Date 410,152 Cockrell Sept. 3, 1889 1,459,982 McKee June 26, 1923 2,269,412 Sturtevant Jan. 6, 1942 2,273,341 Vollmer Feb, 17, 1942 Schneible et a1. Apr. 24, 1945 

